


Sana me

by Himmelreich



Category: Fate/Zero
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-01
Updated: 2013-08-01
Packaged: 2017-12-22 01:40:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/907386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Himmelreich/pseuds/Himmelreich
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[Set after the fight versus Caster in episodes 13 and 14.] Kirei comes back to his place after saving Kariya, and learns that even the King of Heroes is not completely invincible. Gilgamesh/Kirei if you squint a little.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sana me

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Излечи меня](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9852845) by [WTFFate2017](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WTFFate2017/pseuds/WTFFate2017)



When Kirei finally reached the silence and isolation of his room, he shut the door and rested his back against it for a moment, eyes closed. His mind had not yet fully caught up to what he had just done, on a level of comprehension, that is. From a mere factual perspective, he knew perfectly well what had happened: he had saved an enemy master his ally had tried to kill. It did not make sense, me mused. His job was to assisst Tohsaka Tokiomi, to make sure to do anything in his might to help him win this war, to obtain the Holy Grail, and fulfill the Tohsaka family's ambitions. Kirei was a soldier sent to battle, that was all, his own judgement should not have mattered at all. And yet he had given in to his own whims and saved that miserable pile of burnt meat on the brink of death, only for the sake of seeing him suffer a tad bit longer, and maybe to witness that arrogant, smug smirk fade off Tohsaka's face for just a split second when he was going to realise that his enemy was in fact not as dead as he should be. The pleasant anticipation Kirei harboured streamed through his body like a sudden surge in magic, leaving a paticular tingling sensation.

He had defied orders, acted on his own volitions, given into his own desires, and he could not find him self to feel even the least bit of guilt or regret about it.

It was in then when a snarled remark made him painfully aware of an intruder he should have noticed way earlier; his senses and usual instincts had been blocked out by his sudden outburst of satisfaction, obviously, much to his chagrin.  
"You smell like a charcoal grill, Kirei."  
Kirei opened his eyes to the sight of Gilgamesh leaning against the wall next to the cabinet, his expression tense, brows furrowed in a way that looked most definitely disapproving.  
Kirei left his position at the door, suddenly painful aware of his unusual behaviour. Egocentricism aside, he was sure that Gilgamesh was able to pick up on even the tiniest gestures with ease. He crossed the room and seated himsel in the armchair, facing the other man, who was still glaring at him.  
"I am sorry if the smell annoys you, King of Heroes. You are of course free to leave this room, if it should be unbearable to you", he stated calmly.  
Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed to an alarming degree, and Kirei decided it would be best not to test out how many snappy remarks Gilgamesh was ready to put up with after the mess of a fight earlier this night.  
"I thought you would actually approve of me taking your advice to do something I personally want to do, rather than what your master wishes", he added, therefore, glad to see Gilgamesh's facial expressions lighten up a little. He was confident in both in his fighting skills and in the fact that - for some reason incomprehensible to himself - the servant seemed to have a certain fondness for him and therefore gave him a certain exclusive leeway, but Kirei was also painfully aware of the fact that if Gilgamesh ever decided to put an end to his life, it would have an inevitable outcome he was not at all inclined to experience, having just found a promising new project in his life.

"So you saved that pitiful excuse for a magus, Kirei? I am impressed by your sense of charity." The usual trail of amusement had returned to Gilgamesh's voice, though his body language still portrayed a certain tension. "It seems you have finally begun to grasp the meaning of entertainment, then, I approve of that."  
Kirei did not response, as instead he gave in to a sudden speculation and honed his senses to inspect the presence of his guest more closely. Indeed, he found his assumption verified when he discovered a faint disturbance in the normally impeccable form Archer displayed on an aetheric level, which he was clearly trying to surpress as best as he could; a sensation vaguely familiar to him - pain and discomfort.  
"You are injured", he stated bluntly.  
Gilgamesh's response was an annoyed and almost defensive noise, his glare intensifying again.  
"Barely a scratch. That insolent mad dog can deal no serious injury to me, obviously, his attacks on me probably dealt him more damage than me, and he would have met his doom if not for those others meddling with our fight."  
For a moment, Kirei was simply surprised that Gilgamesh really had given him an honest answer to begin with instead of brushing the matter off, or cutting his tongue out for the sheer audacity of questioning his invincibility at all. Obviously, Gilgamesh applied his demand for honest answers even to himself, which Kirei thought to be a remarkable trait.  
"And Tohsaka Tokiomi did not deem it necessary to heal you? He should be able to do so in no time."  
Gilgamesh's furious hiss reminded Kirei of a venomous snake, ready to strike at its opponent in a split second.  
"As if I would that cowardly bastard even let near me after today's humilation! My power will have returned in no time as it is, and I will never sink as low as to have him tamper with my presence, as he clearly lacks the understanding of just who I am."  
His eyes almost glowed with obvious disdain and fury, while he had kept his torso unnaturally still during his outburst, as Kirei noted. His usual fighting techniques centered around finding his enemy's weak points, and his studied gaze now revealed only too many on Gilgamesh's body; morbus professionalis.

"If you allow me to, I could heal you."  
The words had left Kirei's lips without any conscious thought preceeding them. He himself heard them with mild surprise, actually. Voicing ideas out loud without deliberation was nothing like him, especially if it was such a needless question, anyway. He was sure that Gilgamesh would brush him off, probably bite his head off for forgetting his place, and leave the room in a fury.  
He was not the least bit surprised when Gilgamesh did indeed disappear from the place where he had just stood in a whirl of golden sparkles and rematerialized in front of Kirei's armchair within a blink, but instead of raising his voice, he simply stared down at him with an unreadable expression.  
Kirei found himself feeling slightly tense - not out of fear, of course, as this was a thouroughly alien concept to him, but more a sensation similar to the moment right before a fight - as he calmly met Gilgamesh's gaze, trying to decipher the mood in those red, eerily serpent-like eyes. There was a few seconds of total silence, and Kirei did not allow himself to even blink, not wanting to loose this wordless struggle. Then, suddenly, Gilgamesh extended his right arm, upturned palm lingering just inches away from Kirei's face.

"Heal me, then."  
A command, not a request. Kirei did not answer, but instead carefully gripped Gilgamesh's wrist, his fingers meeting warm skin and cold metal of the bracelet alike. It briefly crossed his mind that for injuries of this level, touching or even proximity like this was not even required; he could probably have healed Gilgamesh from across the room, but he brushed the thought aside and instead focussed on the task at hand, letting the magic flow, letting it enter the other man's body through where his fingertips met skin, a feeling of warm, pure energy. He could feel it slowly spreading up Gilgamesh's arm, healing bruises invisible under the snow white fabric of his shirt, and then further up, making its way past the shoulder and across his chest. Kirei could feel a broken rib reform under his magic, and heard Gilgamesh take a shaky breath of relief as the pain slowly subsided. Throughout all this, Kirei did not break eye contact, and neither did Gilgamesh. It was odd - Kirei had used healing magic countless of times before, both on himself and on others, but never had it felt quite as intimate as it did now, as he found himself in this situation both by his own offer and a haughty command, pinned down by those inhuman eyes, and yet there was no force behind their gaze.  
As even the last minor injuries were being healed under Kirei's skilled practice and Gilgamesh's body slowly returned to its usual flawless state, something about Gilgamesh's posture grew more and more relaxed, the tension being drowned in the warmth of the magic spreading between the both of them, the look in his eyes becoming almost soft. The King of Heroes was letting him see a surprisingly vulnerable side of himself, Kirei realised, openly showing the pain he had put up with out of pride so far instead of asking his master for assistance, and letting a mere human touch him in the first place, he, who belonged amongst the heavens, as he had said himself. It was an honour, Kirei thought, he was being given the honour of this savouring this privilege. This knowledge gave him the courage to maintain his soft grip on the other man's wrist even when the healing procedure had ended, and indeed Gilgamesh did not pull away or show any signs of disapproval. Instead, he let out a small chuckle, the typical half smile returning to his lips for the first time ever since Kirei had entered this room.

"Well done, Kirei."  
That was probably the closest to a "Thank you" someone as Gilgamesh was ever going to say, not that Kirei minded it. He was not doing the things he did for shallow, meaningless words of gratitude, after all.  
"My pleasure, King of Heroes", he answered instead, finally letting go of Gilgamesh's wrist. "Healing comes easy to me, so do not refrain from using my assistance, if you should ever need it."  
"Does it, now? Ironic, don't you think?"  
Gilgamesh leaned forward, supporting his weight on his left arm on the top of the armchair, just above Kirei's head. Kirei did not answer straight away, and merely calmy met Gilgamesh's gaze. There was no longer even a hint of the surpressed pain and anger that he had displayed just a few moments before, but instead a mixture of his usual haughty amusement and genuine interest.  
"I guess it is, yes. It is the only type of magic I have a natural affinity for, though I don't have much use for it", he finally replied.  
Gilgamesh let out a short laugh.  
"You really are an interesting man, Kotomine Kirei, by all standards."  
He lifted his right hand to meet Kirei's face, the fingertips just barely brushing over his cheek. Kirei could still feel the tingling sensation of his own magic pulsing through them, but before he had really registered the touch and had time to react, Gilgamesh pulled away and straightened back up, glancing at him with that ambiguous smile.  
"I am truly looking forward to seeing whatever you will do, Kirei. I am glad we have met in this boring, inelegant world."  
And with that, he disappeared in a rain of gold. Kirei remained where he was for quite some time afterwards, his mind spinning with the events of the past few hours. Something had started to change, and he had come to realise that he did in fact like this change a lot. 

And through all that, he could still feel the touch lingering.

**Author's Note:**

> * sanare [lat.] to heal, to make amends  
> * "You are a charcoal grill that goes out in the cold" is an actual line from the Gilgamesh epic, by the way, directed at Ishtar. Gil truly is the King of Creative Insults (◡‿◡✿)
> 
> Upon reading the TV Tropes page for this series, I came across the fact that apparently healing magic is the only magic that Kirei was able to master naturally. I'm not really sure how this One Shot ensued from that, but I do like the end result quite a lot. I'm no native speaker, so please excuse any mistakes.


End file.
